Post on 07-Jul-2018
8/18/2019 Memory is Just One of Many Phenomena That Demonstrate the Brain
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Introduction to memory
Memory is just one of many phenomena that demonstrate the brain’s
complexity. On a basic level, memory is the capacity for storing and
retrieving information, but memories are not simply recorded and neatly
stored. Our memories are selected, constructed, and edited not just by
us but by the world around us. We have an astounding, boundless
capacity for memory, but our memories are also faulty, full of holes and
distortions, and hampered by unreliable data retrieval systems.
Memory researchers explore the many mysteries of remembering. They
examine why the name of a favorite elementary school teacher might
leap easily to mind, while the time and place of a committee meeting
prove maddeningly elusive. They try to explain why we have trouble
remembering a person’s name only to recall it later, after the person is
gone. We still have much to learn about how memories are made and
what determines whether they last or fade away.
Memory is essentially the capacity for storing and retrieving information.
Three processes are involved in memory! encoding, storage, and
retrieval. "ll three of these processes determine whether something is
remembered or forgotten.
Encoding
#rocessing information into memory is called encoding . #eople
automatically encode some types of information without being aware of
it. $or example, most people probably can recall where they ate lunch
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yesterday, even though they didn’t try to remember this information.
%owever, other types of information become encoded only if people pay
attention to it. &ollege students will probably not remember all the
material in their textboo's unless they pay close attention while they’re
reading.
There are several different ways of encoding verbal information!
• Structural encoding focuses on what words loo' li'e. $or
instance, one might note whether words are long or short, in
uppercase or lowercase, or handwritten or typed.• Phonemic encoding focuses on how words sound.
• Semantic encoding focuses on the meaning of words. (emantic
encoding re)uires a deeper level of processing than structural or
phonemic encoding and usually results in better memory.
Storage
"fter information enters the brain, it has to be stored or maintained. To
describe the process of storage, many psychologists use the three*stage
model proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin . "ccording
to this model, information is stored se)uentially in three memory
systems! sensory memory, short*term memory, and long*term memory.
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory stores incoming sensory information in detail but only
for an instant. The capacity of sensory memory is very large, but the
information in it is unprocessed. +f a flashlight moves )uic'ly in a circle
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inside a dar' room, people will see a circle of light rather than the
individual points through which the flashlight moved. This happens
because sensory memory holds the successive images of the moving
flashlight long enough for the brain to see a circle. isual sensory
memory is called iconic memory - auditory sensory memory is
called echoic memory .
Short-Term Memory
(ome of the information in sensory memory transfers to short-term
memory , which can hold information for approximately twenty seconds.ehearsing can help 'eep information in short*term memory longer.
When people repeat a new phone number over and over to themselves,
they are rehearsing it and 'eeping it in short*term memory.
(hort*term memory has a limited capacity! it can store about seven
pieces of information, plus or minus two pieces. These pieces of
information can be small, such as individual numbers or letters, or larger,such as familiar strings of numbers, words, or sentences. " method
called chun'ing can help to increase the capacity of short*term
memory. Chunking combines small bits of information into bigger,
familiar pieces.
Example: A person confronted with this sequence of twelve letters
would probably have difficulty remembering it ten seconds later,
because short-term memory cannot handle twelve pieces of information:
HO TB T T! "! #$ O$ %O "& '& AB O( ) However, these letters
can be easily remembered if they*re grouped into si+ familiar words,
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because short-term memory can hold si+ pieces of information: HOT
B TT!"!# $O$%O"& '& A BO()
Wor'ing Memory
#sychologists today consider short*term memory to be a working
memory . ather than being just a temporary information storage
system, wor'ing memory is an active system. +nformation can be 'ept in
wor'ing memory while people process or examine it. Wor'ing memory
allows people to temporarily store and manipulate visual images, store
information while trying to ma'e decisions, and remember a phonenumber long enough to write it down.
/ong*Term Memory
+nformation can be transferred from short*term memory to long*term
memory and from long*term memory bac' to short*term memory. Long-
term memory has an almost infinite capacity, and information in long*
term memory usually stays there for the duration of a person’s life.
%owever, this doesn’t mean that people will always be able to remember
what’s in their long*term memory they may not be able
to retrieve information that’s there.
Organi0ation of Memories
+magine what would happen if a psychology textboo' weren’t organi0ed
by section, by chapter, or in any other way. +magine if the textboo' didn’t
have a table of contents or an index. +f the textboo' just contained lots of
information in a random order, students would have difficulty finding a
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particular concept, such as 1encoding of memory.2 They’d 'now the
information was in there somewhere, but they’d have trouble retrieving it.
/ong*term memory stores much more information than a textboo', andpeople would never be able to retrieve the information from it if it weren’t
organi0ed in some way.
#sychologists believe one way the brain organi0es information in long*
term memory is by category. $or example, papaya may be organi0ed
within the semantic category fruit . &ategories can also be based on how
words sound or loo'. +f someone is struggling to remember theword papaya , she may remember first that it’s a three*syllable word, that
it begins with the letter p , or that it ends with the letter a
/ong*term memory organi0es information not only by categories but also
by the information’s familiarity, relevance, or connection to other
information.
here ere !ou hen " " "
$lashbulb memories are vivid, detailed memories of important events.
Older people may have very clear memories of where they were and
what they were doing when they heard #resident 3ohn $. 4ennedy had
been assassinated. Many people today may have a similar 'ind of
memory of where they were when they heard the #entagon and the
World Trade &enter had been attac'ed by terrorists.
etrieval
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Retrie#al is the process of getting information out of memory. Retrie#al
cues are stimuli that help the process of retrieval. etrieval cues include
associations, context, and mood.
Lost Memories
The fact that people can often recall lost memories when hypnoti0ed
suggests that information in long*term memory is usually not lost it
may just be difficult to retrieve.
"ssociations
5ecause the brain stores information as networ's of associated
concepts, recalling a particular word becomes easier if another, related
word is recalled first. This process is called $riming .
Example: 'f Tim shows his roommate a picture of sunbathers on a nude
beach and then as s him to spell the word bear, the roommate may be
more li ely to spell bare because the picture primed him to recall thatform of the word
&ontext
#eople can often remember an event by placing themselves in the same
context they were in when the event happened.
Example: 'f a woman loses her car eys, she may be able to recall
where she put them if she re-creates in her mind e+actly what she did
when she last came in from par ing her car
Mood
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+f people are in the same mood they were in during an event, they may
have an easier time recalling the event.